


ghosts in the air

by kadma



Category: H2O: Just Add Water
Genre: Angst, Conversations, F/F, Pre-Femslash, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-25 04:58:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14371392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kadma/pseuds/kadma
Summary: "It's a magical place," says Emma, quietly. "With or without a tail."Written forScreen Exchange 2018: Drabble Round.Written for Angst in my@genprompt_bingo card.





	ghosts in the air

**Author's Note:**

  * For [agirlnamedtruth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlnamedtruth/gifts).



Emma rises from the water, inhaling the cool air of the moon pool. The splash startles the shadows; she freezes, the figure drops its pencil.

Charlotte is sitting cross-legged on the sandy floor, sketchbook in lap. In her eyes, defiance mixed with fear: funny, how she's never seen Charlotte look scared before.

"What are  _you_  doing here?"

Charlotte's eyes dart to the left. There's an scuba tank resting against the rock; Charlotte's body is covered in a thick black-and-blue rubber wet-suit. A waterproof backpack lies open at her feet, spilling out art supplies.

"I--I wasn't expecting anyone."

Emma narrows her eyes. "You didn't answer my question."

Charlotte breathes slowly though her nose. Her lips press into a thin white line. 

"I'll leave you alone -- just let me go." She stands up too quickly, dropping the sketchbook and nearly smacking her head on the rocks overhead.

The page reveals a reproduction of the moon pool, rocks shaded in a deep blue and opalescent white, the sea dancing as if it's as fluid as the water surrounding Emma. A full moon looms overhead, spilling its glow onto the stone. In the water, there's a hint of a dusky orange tail and a wave of red hair.

Emma sighs. Charlotte's hair covers her face, and as she scrambles around, picking up her supplies, the faintest blush is visible on her cheeks.

"Charlotte."

"What?"

"You don't have to leave just because I'm here."

A look of uncertainty crosses her face. She opens her mouth, as if to say something, but instead retrieves her sketchbook and resumes her sketching position.

The silence overtakes them. The swishing of Emma's tail in the water, the scratching of pencil against paper, and the occasional sigh from Charlotte's lips are the only sounds to remind them they're alive. Emma doesn't know why she feels so calm. Opposite her, there's a cunning, cruel woman who nearly destroyed her friends and everything they'd created together. But it's strangely serene, to have someone nearby.

"Do you want to know what I'm drawing?"

"The moon pool, right?"

Charlotte nods. "Despite everything, it's so beautiful."

Emma doesn't know what to say, so she looks ahead, tilting her head slightly to show she's still listening.

"My grandmother was a good woman, and a good mermaid. I might not be a mermaid anymore, but I want to be a better woman. I want to make her proud."

"You sound like you're going somewhere--"

"I am." The break in her voice makes Emma look up; Charlotte's smiling, but tears fill up her eyes. "I'm leaving and I never want to forget Mako Island."

"It's a magical place," says Emma, quietly. "With or without a tail."

Charlotte smiles. It's a sweet smile, one that makes her look pretty. Something spikes through Emma's heart; like a glacier, it burns with cold. She reaches out. Charlotte reaches back. They clasp the other's hand and stare into the water that changed them, into the magic that brought them something wild.


End file.
